This Changes Everything
by RandomGnome
Summary: Once off.  Tried to upload this earlier and it didn't work...Gotta love technology.  Lauren talks at Nadia.  No mention of the curse, wrote it before that was ever brought up. I don't own these characters.


This Changes Everything

_"This changes _everything_." _

Bo's words echoed around Lauren's head as she strode deeper into her lab, into its inner sanctum. The lab had been there for many years, since before the Old Ash had held his office; he had always been a forward-thinker, able to uphold tradition, but also changing with the times. He had recognised the changes in time, the medical advances in specific, and had created the lab in accordance. It was furnished all of the newest, most advanced equipment, Fae and human. He also hired only the most qualified people to work there. Lauren often wondered if he had ever regretted his decision to help her. And Nadia.

As she walked, Lauren put a hand in her pocket and closed it tightly around the rusted nail. It was wrapped in the silk lining it had been sitting on in the little box. She and Bo had wrapped it up so that it didn't accidently cut her or something. She had put it in her pocket in order to smuggle it back into the Ash's compound. Lauren knew that Lachlan was the kind of person who, once he had his claws in something, wouldn't let it go so easily. If he knew that his human doctor was trying to leave, that she may have the key to helping her with that, he would find some way of making it his or eliminating it. She had no idea what the nail was or what it signified or how it was going to help Nadia. She didn't doubt that it would help, somehow, because The Morrigan had given Bo her blood oath that it would and no Fae in their right mind would ever lie about an oath like that. Mostly because, if word got around that they were breaking their promises, it made them look weak, and Evony wasn't about to do that; her position as the Morrigan was much too important to her. One of the things that Lauren had learned about dealing with the Fae, however, was that a truth given may not be the whole truth and that their _help_ came with a hidden price. And a high price it was, too.

Help Nadia, save Nadia. It was all she had wanted to do for five years. She did whatever work The Ash sent her way, but in her free time, she was allowed to work on her special project. Not that anything had ever come of it; Lauren was no closer to finding a cure than she had been in the Congo all those years ago. She could never figure out why Nadia had gotten sick in the first place, nor could she understand why her cure for the Fae could not be adapted to humans. If not for The Ash, Nadia could have died five years ago, and at the time complete servitude and being cut off from the majority of human society hadn't seemed like that high of a price. Now, with Lachlan as Ash – arrogant, misogynistic, drunk on power – Lauren had begun questioning her will to stay.

And then there was Bo.

Bo was the price that she would pay for saving Nadia. In order to get what she had wanted most, Lauren knew that she would be losing what she and Bo had struggled so hard to build between them since… And that was probably what The Morrigan had in mind when she had given Bo her oath to help free Nadia. The leader of the Dark Fae probably figured that if she could continue to undercut Bo's friends in the Light, eventually the succubus would give in and join the Dark. It made Lauren smile to herself because as naïve as Bo could be about the world of the Fae, she wasn't stupid and she could see right through the ruse; The Morrigan also underestimated Bo's stubbornness and her heart. God, she had such a big heart. It was a dangerous thing to have, in the world of the Fae, where it could be perceived as a weakness, but Bo made it work for her. More than one Fae had found out that Bo was anything but weak, and she was also gaining a reputation as a good PI. And she was right; this was going to change everything, for both of them.

Breaking her chain of thought, Lauren stopped in front of a single door at the end of a long corridor. Using her pendant with The Ash's symbol on it, Lauren opened the door and walked slowly into the cold, sterile room where the old Ash had ensconced Nadia in a stasis pod to keep the disease at bay while keeping the woman alive. Lauren closed the door slowly and then leaned her back against it, feeling the cold metal through her clothes. She stared at the opaque pod where she could only just make out the prone form of Nadia. The only sound in the room was that of the ventilator and other equipment plugged into the pod. Lauren closed her eyes as the inevitable tears came. The worst part about Nadia being in stasis for so many years was that, after a while, Lauren had nearly forgotten what the woman had been like before. She had locked those memories away on purpose, to make it easier for her to live her day-to-day life. The heavy work load given to her by the old Ash and the new made that easier, too. Still, this was the first time in five years that she allowed herself to really remember.

_ "You want to go _where_?" Nadia frowned and furrowed her dark eye-brows. Lauren sighed. She had known this wasn't going to be an easy conversation to have with her girlfriend, but it needed to happen sooner rather than later. _

_ "The Congo. I've been offered a research grant that would allow me to study the people there and the native medicines they use, see if there are any that can be adapted over here." Lauren explained. She had been completely shocked when she had been offered the chance and without giving it a second thought had accepted. Who knew when she might get a second offer? She could keep working in the clinic, or she could do what she had put herself through med school for. _

_ "But, that's in Africa. Why do you want to go there?" Nadia was still frowning, her deep green eyes showing nothing but confusion. _

_ How did Lauren even begin to explain? Nadia was a photographer, which was her passion; Lauren had only ever wanted to be a doctor so that she could research cures for chronic diseases. She had dreamed of being the next Marie Curie all through med-school. It wasn't until she had graduated and had been faced with the real world where it wasn't as easy as it had once seemed to find the kind of work she wanted to do. Instead, she worked at a clinic that made most of its money from doing drug tests for employers. It was the same thing, day in and day out. _Boring_. She wanted to be out there, doing something real, working with people who had the same passions as she did. _

_ "Come on, Nadia, how could I _not_ want to go?" They were both seated on the love seat in Lauren's tiny apartment, but at that comment, Nadia had sprung to her faster than a cat if you stepped on its tail; she actually hissed in her anger. _

_ "And leave me behind? Thanks, Babe." _

_ Lauren sighed again and rolled her eyes in frustration. Even though they had been exclusive for over a year, practically living together, Lauren still hadn't figured out how to have 'a talk' with Nadia without the other woman jumping to just the wrong conclusion. She stayed seated, did her best to keep her voice calm, even though Lauren wanted very much to jump to her feet too. Discipline was hard to come by, but at times like these and when dealing with her boss at the clinic, Lauren had taught herself how to remain calm, even when dealing with matters close to her heart. Some thought it made her cold; she had overheard several people say so, Nadia included. Lauren believed, though, that having the will power to stay calm made her better able to deal when the unexpected came at her. _

_ "No, Nadia, you weren't listening to me," she began, but paused as she gathered her thoughts. _

_ "I heard you loud and clear, _Lau-ren_. You want to fly away to Africa for who knows how long, leave me behind and –" _

_ "- No. Nadia, listen to me, okay? Just please, sit down and listen to what I'm telling you." Lauren held out her hand and looked up at the other woman with pleading eyes. Nadia glared at her in anger for a few moments before her expression melted and she threw up her hands in capitulation. Lauren knew that she couldn't stay mad when she gave her the puppy-dog eyes. Nadia didn't sit down, though, couldn't give in that easily. _

_ "Okay..." _

_ "I was offered the grant along with three other people, so they said that if we had any family that we wanted to bring along, we could. And…" She reached onto the coffee table where she had laid a magazine and opened it to the page she had dog-eared. "Look at this." She gave the magazine to Nadia and waited while she read the portion Lauren had circled in red. She had researched this for practically the whole day, trying to find a valid reason to bring Nadia along, asside from the fear that if she left, Nadia wouldn't be around when she finally came back. Lauren was pretty sure that she was in love with Nadia, but in all the time they had been seeing each other, she hadn't once said the words. Then again, neither had Nadia._

_The doctor watched realisation dawn on the other woman's face. Nadia's expression lightened and she turned her head to grin at Lauren. Then she frowned again. "I've never done that kind of work before," she began, "Do you really think I can do it?"_

_That made Lauren smile. Nadia knew that she was a gifted photographer, but she was always hesitant to leave her comfort zone of portrait taking. _

_Lauren held her hand out again. This time, Nadia took it and came to sit back down on the sofa. "I think you can. I think that _we_ can. It will be a great adventure." The doctor took the magazine and set it back on the coffee table. "Come on, Nadia. I don't want to go without you." She didn't add that she _would_ go even if Nadia said no. It was too great an opportunity to pass up._

_Lauren watched Nadia think it over, weighing all of the possibilities in her head. For someone who could be so explosive at a moments notice, she wasn't one to make major decisions without thinking it through. It was one thing that they had in common and that Lauren really loved about her. Finally, though, Nadia flashed Lauren a quick grin. _

_"Okay. I'll do it. We can go together." She finally said. Lauren smiled; she had hoped it wouldn't be too difficult to convince her. Now, all they had to do was make the arrangements. Easy. _

_"I'm glad." She told Nadia, truly meaning it. _

_"So, how does one start an adventure like this?" By the look in her eyes, the playful glint, Lauren knew the question was rhetorical. Leaning forward eagerly, she kissed Nadia, trying to put all of her joy into that one action._

Lauren opened her eyes and focused on the stasis pod through her tears. That had been such an amazing night. The 'celebration' had lasted well through the night and into the early morning. It was the last such evening that would pass so happily.

Remembering that, Lauren pushed herself away from the door, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. Taking a few deep breaths to help calm down, she approached the pod and walked slowly to stand at the head of it.

Not sure how to begin, she stared intently down, trying to make out the features she had once known so well. Dark hair, black as ink and feathery soft to the touch, green eyes like emeralds, olive skinned, and a smile that could practically light up a room; that was how Lauren prefered to remember her.

"Hi." She began, then hesitated. What did a person say at a time like this? And what was safe to say? Lauren knew that the room was most likely bugged, monitored; she was pretty sure that even her own rooms here had hidden cameras. It was just the kind of thing that Lachlan would do. So what could she say that would convey her message without arrousing suspicion?

"Hi. Babe, I..." Lauren swallowed and reached into her pocket to pull out the nail folded in the cloth. Her hand closed hard around it and she could feel the metal bite into her even through the fabric. It was such an inoccuous thing on which to rest her hope on.

She cleared her throat and put the object back in her pocket. "I have to run some tests, but, I may have found it. After all this time, there could be a cure for you. I'm sorry it took so long. I just wish I could explain how you got sick in the first place. No other h- nobody but those tribes did. And I cured them. Why didn't it work on you?" She stopped talking and gave her head a shake. There was no use re-hashing things that couldn't be changed. Gathering herself, Lauren went on, "It was Bo, really. She...gave me the inspiration I needed. I hope. She did it because..." _Because she is amazingly self-sacrificing for a Fae. Because she cares about me, like I do for her. Because she promised to help me and she always follows through on her promises; it's almost as though her word means something to her. _It was the most Fae thing about her.

"Because she's like that. You really _would_ like her. I do. Um...I just wanted you to know, okay, Babe? I'm sorry it took so long..."

Lauren blew out a breath. She had come in here once a day for the first several months after moving into the Compound. As she acclimated more to her position and to the kind of work that she was expected to do, the visits became less frequent. She found it harder to talk at Nadia in the pod. There wasn't even any indication that she could be heard, no change in the readouts. After five years of no positive results, Lauren had put the search for Nadia's cure on the backburner, working on it when she had free time. Then came Bo and with just one visit, the succubus had turned her world on its head. In a good way.

For the first time in five years, Lauren had felt attraction for someone. It was crazy and had been there from their initial interaction. At first, Lauren had been willing to chalk up her reaction to Bo as merely the effects of succubus powers. The more time she spent with her, the small pockets of time that Lauren had used to "study" a succubus had taught her otherwise. Bo was exactly as she seemed - strong, witty, smart, protective, _beautiful_, amazing.

After their fist time together, despite being marred by Bo's reaction to Lauren's reasoning, the human had been sure of only one concrete fact; that she was utterly smitten with the Fae and that was dangerous. The light Fae weren't as strict when it came to mating with humans, but they were still looked down on.

After the attack on the Elders, on the old Ash, Lauren had been so afraid that if she let her guard down, even for a few minutes, something _bad_ would happen. It had only been with Bo, in the shack that she had somehow turned into a home, that she had been able to relax, sleep. That was why she had run there after Lachlan had announced his lockdown edict; no place had ever made her feel so safe. She wouldn't have left, except that Lachlan had crossed a line in threatening and harming Kenzi in Bo's home, which he knew was wrong; he had also threatened Nadia, something Lauren hadn't thought even he, callous and arrogant as he was, would do. She had left to keep everyone safe, including herself.

_If only we hadn't danced around each other all that time_, Lauren thought. Maybe if she had just given in and taken Bo's bed that first night... What? _It probably would have made tonight even more awkward than it had already been. I should have just told her before..._ Thinkning like that wasn't going to get her anywhere. She couldn't take it back, not the omission, and she certainly wouldn't take back the times they were together physically. Those two times - and everything in-between - were precious to her, especially at times like this.

"I, uh, I have to go. I need to run tests. But I'll be back, I promise." With that Lauren laid her hand on the dome of the stasis pod, giving it a gentle carress. Then she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and exited the room. The nail in her pocket felt heavy as she made her way to the main lab to try, hopefully, to fulfil a promise made five years ago.

Bo was right, it _would_ change everything.


End file.
